10 best ways to spend your free time

When I say “Free Time”, some will react, “Free Time, ehh, what’s that? I will sleep when I’m dead. Right now, it’s work time. HUSTLE, HUSTLE, HUSTLE!” And, some others will react, “Free Time, yeah sure, let’s chill out. What’s your Netflix username and password?” Some are so preoccupied while others feel like even a weekend starting from Thursday is too short. The thing is TIME is a very misleading thing. But whether you have time or not, the best way to spend time is to use it productively.

In Gandalf’s words- “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us”.

If you’re looking for productive things to do or just time to kill, then check out these 10 best ways to spend your free time.

Learn a Foreign Language At Home.

You may think, what’s the use of learning a new language at this stage of my life? I’m never going to use it anywhere. Let me tell you this- not all things you do have to be profitable in terms of money. Some things give you much more than that. Benefits of learning a new language-

You are introduced to a whole new culture.

You make new friends in different parts of the world.

You can even cook a traditional dish which is totally different than your cuisine.

While it’s difficult to stay motivated for self-studying the new language, there are lots of communities and resources available to help you. I recommend LingQ for its features of learning new words, saving them and even measuring your improvement. You can also chat with helpful native speakers.

Read a Book.

Reading is like an exercise for your brain which improves your vocabulary and broadens your knowledge about so many things that you didn’t know before. You can start by reading magazines of your interest such as music, sports, news, or fashion. And then later, challenge yourself to read a book a week.

Visit www.clarkness.com to select from a massive collection of stories and eBooks for the beginning readers. There are even personalized stories which feature the first names of over 1600 readers or you can request for the stories to be personalized for free with your beginning reader’s first name if it is not on the list. How cool is that!

For grown-ups, Project Gutenberg offers over 57,000 free epub books and kindle books which can be read online or downloaded. And guess what, you don’t even need to pay or register!

DIY Activities.

If you want to spend your free time creatively then check out my list of DIY crafts and pick your favorite which you’d be interested in making.

Mason jars

Towels

Plastic spoon lamp

Candle holder

Shoes makeover

Painted globe

Vertical wine rack

T-shirt DIYs

Art for walls

Recycle stuff and give them a makeover

Get started by reading some IKEA hacks to organize your life. If you’ve done any cool DIY project, please share it in the comments. Can’t wait to read what your creative mind thought.

Get Outdoors.

Stop giving excuses like- My body is tired or I just want to cuddle in bed. Go out and make the most of your time. Just a little sunshine and fresh air can do so much to your body- improved concentration, increased energy levels, boosted immune system. After all, there ain’t no better stress reliever than Mother Nature! Go out for any reason like hiking, outdoor games, just a local tour, geocaching or a short break from work.

I want to know what outdoor activities do you like. Comment your outdoor adventures.

Spend Time With Family and Friends.

Ok, so you’re totally caught up in your crazy, hectic schedule and hardly get an hour or so free. I’ve an option for you to spend time where it is the most needed. It goes without saying that family time is a sacred and precious thing.

The Family That Eats Together Stays Together– Make it a point to eat at least dinner together every night.

Give a helping hand when needed– Be it a big task like painting the room or a small one like arranging plates after eating, help each other. If you have kids, engage them and let them learn in the process.

Just sit and talk– Communication is the key to a happy family, or for any relationship. Most of the times, simply listening to your loved ones is more important than talking. Parents can share their past experiences or some funny family stories from an old photo album.

“The idea is to make decisions and act on them.”

Clean Your Closet.

I’m pretty sure; this task is on everybody’s to-do list and it never gets ticked off. Let me give you the best tip for cleaning your closet. Take out everything and ask yourself “Would I buy this if I were shopping right now?” If your answer is no to any of the items, then do not think even a second before throwing it out. In fact, you can put the discarded clothes for donation or you can trade them for new ones from some websites.

Always keep your closet minimal. Otherwise you will have a cupboard full of clothes but still nothing to wear.

Plan Your Meals For The Week.

Plan your meal using any meal planner app or simply jot down all your dishes in Excel or your diary.

Make a list of the regular dishes you eat. Keep quick and easy to cook recipes for the week and time-worthy recipes for the weekend.

Then make a list of all the ingredients needed. One important tip- keep a consistent name for all food items. For e.g. – don’t write powdered sugar in one recipe and confectioners’ sugar in another or you’ll have double stock of the same item.

Accordingly you can then shop for groceries.

Make sure you plan for meals that are nutritious yet economical. What works for you? Planning a week ahead of time or just coming back from office and cooking randomly

Bake.

Turn your boring cooking into a joy by learning something new like- Baking! You can bake bread, pies, cookies or cakes- anything yummy with flour and eggs. Baking at home has its advantages like- altering ingredients as per your taste, fresh bread, less use of oil and not to forget, the delicious aroma which fills the entire house…oooo, I just can’t wait to whisk all my ingredients and put them in the oven.

After all, nothing fixes a bad day better than a chocolate chip cookie.

“The way we spend our time defines who we are.”

Volunteer.

You can manage to keep one weekend free for this noble work, right? There’s no better way to spend time than to help someone. Here are 5 benefits of volunteer work:-

Spending your time in doing some unpaid work helps you discover the other side of you.

You can look at it as your training ground to learn and develop new skills.

It’s a different world apart from your friends and family.

You will feel that you’ve accomplished something in life more than just money.

You may not make a huge difference but your little step will leave a positive impact on someone which will be passed on to someone and hence, circled endlessly.

Connect with organizations on Facebook or LinkedIn; register yourself as per your interests and get in touch with the right people to make your contribution.

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” – Muhammad Ali.

What volunteer activities can you participate in to give something back to the community?

Use Internet “WISELY”.

Of course we can’t imagine life without the internet. It’s really amazing how much information we have at our fingertips with a few clicks. However, consider my recommendations for your internet usage-

Share your opinions– There are lot of online forums which let you discuss and share your thoughts with people located at different places in the world, like Quora. Read different blogs and leave comments.

Get in touch with family or long distance friends– It’s time to ditch your usual chats and make a video call. Trust me you will feel so better when you get to see them talking to you.

Take time to shop smart– You can stock your shopping cart with items you may need. This way you save time when you want to purchase something later. Also you can compare your items for the cheapest one available from various sites.

Try a new app or a new plugin– There are plenty of apps and extensions available for your web browser to help you make your browsing experience faster and organized.

Take a round around the globe– not literally! 😉 Use Google Street View to see panoramic views of many natural wonders or historical places, sitting comfortably in your chair or bed. Go and explore!

Improve vocabulary– There are many websites available where you can increase your knowledge of words. Think of how smart and intelligent people will think about you with a heavy lingo.

Test your brain by playing quiz– Challenge your brain’s thinking capacities by playing some brain teasers or optical illusions.

Read facts – You can Google up for the fact of the day or get to know some bizarre facts at FactsMania. Or you can simply look up for the correct info on Wikipedia and can even contribute your knowledge.

Participate in surveys– Look out for genuine surveys to give your opinions. You might even earn money or gift cards from some sites.

Control your obsession of the internet and learn to sort out the info which you want rather than just wandering aimlessly.

Can an extra hour change your life? Can it make a positive impact on your health? Share your productive spare-time tips in the comments. Come back soon to read my next article or subscribe to get it delivered directly in your inbox. Bookmark this page to save time in searching again. Have a nice day ahead.

I love this post! Lately my husband and I have been trying to move away from sitting on the couch and watching TV in our free time. I love the idea of doing DIY activities together or even just spending time outdoors.

Spending time together outdoors is really a fun way to spend time with each other. You’ll be amazed to see another side of your partner. Hope you both have a great time. Check out my 25 free time activity ideas if you can’t decide what to do.